Foster homes are a critical resource within the child welfare system. In
recent years, adoptions from foster care have increased dramatically, as
has the use of relative caregivers for children in out-of-home care.
Nevertheless, more than 260,000 children were in non-relative foster care
at the end of FY 2001 (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
[DHHS], 2003).

In addition to maintaining sufficient licensed foster homes to house the
children in care, child welfare agencies are challenged to provide foster
care in placements that are stable, can accommodate sibling groups, and are
located in proximity to family members (DHHS, 2000a). The increase in adoptions
from foster care  from 37,000 in 1998 to 53,000 in 2002 
creates an additional potential strain on foster home resources. Because
the majority of adoptions are by foster parents, these homes may become less
available as foster homes, following one or more adoptions. During the years
for which national data are available, the percent of children who are adopted
by their foster parents has ranged from 65 percent in 1998 to 59 percent
in 2001 (DHHS, 2000; DHHS, 2001; DHHS, 2002; DHHS, 2003).

Foster parents thus play a central role within the child welfare system,
both as resources in providing care that meets increasingly demanding criteria
and as the primary resource for adoptive children. However, research on foster
parent retention is surprisingly slender. Research related to foster parent
retention typically describes the characteristics and experiences of foster
parents based on their status (current or former foster parents) or their
stated intention (to continue or cease foster parenting). Little is known,
however, about the length of time actually served by foster parents and the
characteristics that distinguish those with varying lengths of service.

The remainder of this section describes the objectives of this project and
provides background information from previous research on foster parenting.
Section 2 describes the administrative data and the methods for descriptive
and multivariate analyses. Section 3 describes foster home characteristics
and utilization, and Section 4 presents analyses of length of service for
foster parents. Finally, Section 5 summarizes these findings and presents
conclusions.

This study was designed to extend current understanding of foster parent
retention by producing unbiased estimates of length of service and examining
factors associated with licensure, provision of care, and length of service.
Principal research questions include

How have the characteristics of foster parents changed over time?

How can variations in activity levels be described, and what foster parent
characteristics are associated with varying activity levels?

What is the typical length of service for foster parents?

What characteristics are associated with variations in length of foster parent
careers?

An intermediate objective is to test the feasibility of using administrative
data to describe foster parents, applying data management and analytic methods
that have been used to describe the experience of children in foster care,
including their length of stay (Wulczyn, 1996; Usher, Wildfire, and Gibbs,
1999).

Three studies represent much of the recent research on foster parent retention.
The National Survey of Current and Former Foster Parents, conducted in 1991,
used a nationally representative sample to select more than 1,000 current
and foster parents for interviews (DHHS, 1989). Data from this survey were
the basis for more extensive descriptive analyses by Rhodes and colleagues
(Rhodes, Orme and Buehler, 2001). In the second study, researchers at Ohio
State University collected data from 539 current and 265 former foster parents
in eight urban counties, using logistic regression to identify factors that
distinguish ongoing from former foster parents (Rindfleisch, Bean and Denby,
1998) and predict intent to continue foster parenting (Denby, Rindfleisch
and Bean, 1999). In addition, a recent assessment by the Office of the Inspector
General conducted both interviews with child welfare managers and focus groups
with foster parents on issues affecting foster parents (DHHS, Office of the
Inspector General [OIG], 2002). These three studies, and other less comprehensive
ones, yield fairly consistent findings on factors that influence foster parent
retention.

Measures used in these studies include willingness to continue foster parenting,
intention to continue or not, and satisfaction with foster parenting, which
has been shown to be associated with intention to continue (Denby, Rindfleisch,
and Bean, 1999). Determinants of continued foster parenting can be categorized
in terms of foster parents'experiences (i.e., interactions with child
welfare agencies and with foster children) and their demographic and
socioeconomic characteristics.

Interactions with the child welfare agency were the most commonly cited factors
affecting foster parent retention. In the National Survey of Current and
Former Foster Parents, agency-related issues, including unsatisfactory
interactions with workers and agency insensitivity, were cited as a reason
for quitting by 37 percent of former foster parents and 62 percent of those
intending to stop foster parenting. While former foster parents also cited
the lack of services as an issue, an analysis of data from this survey found
that reported service needs did not vary significantly among current foster
parents, former foster parents, and those intending to quit (Rhodes, Orme,
and Buehler, 2001). It appears that the level of concern about service needs,
rather than the actual service needs, is related to foster parent status.

Former foster parents were three times more likely to be dissatisfied with
a child's caseworker than current foster parents (DHHS, 1989). Foster parents
who intended to leave were more likely than continuing foster parents to
report that workers did not communicate expectations clearly and treated
foster parents as if they were in need of help themselves (Rindfleisch, Bean,
and Denby, 1998; Denby, Rindfleisch, and Bean, 1999). Problematic interactions
with child welfare agencies also include those surrounding allegations of
abuse or neglect, and interactions with agency red tape (Rindfleisch,
Bean, and Denby, 1998).

Dealing with difficult behaviors among foster children was the most frequently
cited challenge of foster parenting among those interviewed in a Nashville-area
study (Martin, Altemeier, Hickson, Davis, and Glascoe, 1992). Child-related
problems were cited as a reason for quitting by 24 percent of former foster
parents (DHHS, 1989), and were also associated with both satisfaction and
intent to continue foster parenting (Denby, Rindfleisch, and Bean, 1999).
Other stresses surrounding the relationship with the foster child included
the difficulty of seeing children return to birth parents, interactions with
birth parents, and having no say in the child's future (Martin et al., 1992;
DHHS, 1989; Rhodes, Orme, and Buehler, 2001; Hornby, 1985).

Experiences with both pre- and post-licensure training appear to affect foster
parent satisfaction and retention. Using data from a longitudinal study designed
to examine the impact of preservice training, Fees et al. (1998) found that
foster mothers who described the training as useful were more likely to find
satisfaction in the role demands of foster parenting. Boyd and Remy (1979)
found a significant association between training and license retention. Examining
different groups of foster parents within their study population, they found
that the effect of training was strongest for foster parents who are less
assertive and involved in community activism. Compared to current foster
parents, former foster parents and those planning to quit were less likely
to report having received adequate training, particularly related to dealing
with teens and children with special needs (Rhodes, Orme, and Buehler, 2001).
The data used do not allow investigation of whether exiting foster parents
actually received training of lower quality or whether negative feelings
about foster care experiences influenced foster parents' assessment of the
training.

Personal crises or changes in the foster parents' circumstances may precipitate
exit from foster care. Issues such as age, foster parents' health, and marital
crises were cited by 29 percent of former foster parents in the National
Survey of Current and Former Foster Parents (DHHS, 1989). Data from the same
survey showed that 28 percent of former foster parents, and 18 percent of
those planning to quit, reported doing so because they planned to adopt (Rhodes,
Orme, and Buehler, 2001). Foster parents who cited wanting to adopt but having
been unable to do so as a motivation for becoming foster parents were more
than twice as likely to leave foster parenting than other foster parents,
possibly because they had adopted foster children (Rindfleisch, Bean, and
Denby, 1998).

Low levels of financial support for foster parenting were cited as a reason
for quitting by 8 percent of former foster parents and 27 percent of those
planning to quit (Rhodes, Orme, and Buehler, 2001). In the same study, former
foster parents were more likely than current foster parents to report that
they could not afford the cost of caring for the child most recently in their
care (DHHS, 1989). In an Oregon demonstration project in which foster parents
were randomly assigned to receive enhanced subsidies and services, enhanced
subsidy only, or standard treatment only, participants receiving additional
stipends and supports had a dropout rate that was two-thirds less than that
of the control group over a 2-year period (Chamberlain, Moreland, and Reid,
1992).

Foster care board rates may affect the supply of foster homes if foster parents
find that the cost of providing for children's needs exceeds the available
support (Simon, 1975). An analysis of data from the 1980 Survey of Foster
Parents in Eight States found that adjusted foster care board rates predicted
whether licensed foster parents had any children in their homes (Campbell
and Downs, 1987). However, the adjusted board rate did not predict the number
of children cared for in those homes that provided care.

The fact that licensed foster parents may not be actually providing foster
care, as suggested by the study above, suggests another dimension in assessing
the supply of foster home care, that of home utilization. The National Survey
of Current and Former Foster Parents found that 35 percent of licensed foster
homes surveyed had no children in the home at the time of the
survey  these homes were more likely to be nonurban and white
(DHHS, 1989). An assessment of foster parent recruitment suggested that general
campaigns bring in homes that are unwilling or unable to care for the children
who are most likely to be in care (DHHS-OIG, 2002). While these homes may
still be licensed, the foster parents have in effect discontinued foster
parenting. At the other end of the spectrum, Martin et al. (1992) found that
23 percent of the foster parents interviewed cared for half of the children
in care in the participating homes.

The characteristics associated with exiting foster parents are not as well
described as foster parenting experiences. Findings are less consistent for
both demographic and socioeconomic characteristics than for the foster parent
experiences described in the preceding section.

Older foster parents appear more likely to continue providing foster care.
Older foster mothers were significantly more likely to continue foster parenting
rather than quit and were more likely to actually provide care (Rhodes, Orme,
and Buehler, 2001; Campbell and Downs, 1987). Denby and colleagues (1999)
found that age of foster fathers, but not foster mothers, was associated
with increased intention to continue foster parenting.

Foster parent race was not associated with satisfaction with foster parenting
(Denby, Rindfleisch, and Bean, 1999; Fees et al., 1998). However,
Rindfleisch and colleagues (1998), using the same data as Denby, did find
that white foster mothers had a significantly higher probability of having
quit foster parenting.

Studies that examine socioeconomic characteristics generally find that higher
levels of employment and income are associated with increased likelihood
of quitting foster parenting. Although Rhodes and colleagues (2001) did not
find significant income variation among current foster parents, former foster
parents, and those intending to quit, continuing foster parents are more
likely than the other two groups to earn less than $25,000 annually (DHHS,
1989). Foster parents for whom foster parenting is a source of income, and
those who are unemployed, are more likely to continue (Rindfleisch, Bean,
and Denby, 1998; Campbell and Downs, 1987).

These analyses of why foster parents leave are primarily based on self-reported
data from foster parents. Response rates for former foster parents were
substantially lower than for current foster parents, suggesting possible
nonresponse bias. Among studies of why foster parents continue or leave,
information on how long foster parents serve is notably absent. Only two
of the studies report the time in foster parenting for participating foster
parents: a mean of 8.6 years in Martin et al. (1992) and 5 years in Rindfleisch,
Bean, and Denby (1998). None compare length of service among different groups
of foster parents.

This section describes the data on foster parents and child placements used
for all analyses in this report and the analytic methods used to describe
foster parent characteristics, foster home utilization and foster parent
length of service.

Child welfare agencies in three states  New Mexico, Oklahoma and
Oregon  contributed data for these analyses. Selection of these
states was based on data quality and states' willingness to provide both
data and ongoing consultation to the study team.
Table 2-1 summarizes data characteristics from each
state. States provided three types of data for non-relative foster care:
foster parent licensure data, data on individual foster parent characteristics,
and placement records for children.

Foster parent licensure records included license types, license start
dates, and license end dates. Because many homes had multiple license types,
an analytic variable was created to identify those providing regular
(non-relative) foster care only, foster-adopt homes (licensed foster homes
that have indicated an interest in adoption and have completed some of the
requirements for adoptive placements), restricted non-relative placements
(homes approved for care of specific children), and therapeutic foster care
(homes providing higher levels of care to children with special needs), as
shown in Table 2-1. Homes licensed for relative
care only were excluded from analysis, as were placements of relative children
regardless of the foster parents' license type. Thus, for these analyses,
the restricted license category represents foster parents licensed to care
for specific children who are not relatives. In Oklahoma, this license is
known as kinship non-relative; in Oregon, it is classified as
a special license, along with a relative foster parent license.

Data on individual foster parents included race, date of birth, and
number of foster parents in the home. Location was coded by New Mexico as
urban or rural; for Oklahoma and Oregon, analysts coded homes as metropolitan
or nonmetropolitan based on U.S. Census coding of counties (U.S. Census Bureau,
2000). High levels of missing data precluded analysis of data on race for
New Mexico and data on ethnicity for all three states. This omission is
unfortunate, since Hispanic children represent the majority of children in
out-of-home care in New Mexico and substantial populations in the other states
(CWLA, 2002).

To facilitate analysis at the foster home level, and to allow inclusion of
both single- and two-parent foster homes in the analysis, the study team
recoded individual foster parent characteristics into home-level variables.
As an example, race was coded as one or both parents Native American, one
or both parents black, all foster parents white, and other (other race or
homes in which one foster parent was black and one Native American). Age
was converted into a similar home-level variable representing age at first
licensure. Additional data fields from Oregon included income and employment
status at time of initial licensure. Note that these fields represent foster
parents' characteristics at the time of initial licensure, and may change
over the course of a foster parenting career.

Data on children placed in the home included date of birth, race and
special needs identifiers (New Mexico and Oklahoma only). To allow examination
of whether or not caring for children who might be seen as more demanding
was a factor in foster parents' length of service, analysts coded children
as infants (less than 1 year old at time of placement), adolescents (aged
13 or above at time of placement or before the placement end date) and special
needs (physical, mental, or behavioral conditions identified). Oregon's data
included a field identifying placements that ended because the child was
adopted by foster parents.

Analyses of foster home utilization and length of service were based on the
span of time during which children were placed in the foster home, rather
than licensing dates. These analyses were limited to homes in which the date
of the initial license was known to occur after the dates for which child
placement records were available to ensure that all placements in the home
could be identified. This restriction created entry cohorts of foster parents
whose entire foster parenting career could be examined.

Episodes of active foster parenting were defined as the number of days between
the beginning of the first placement of a child in that home and the exit
date of the last child placed in the home or the end of the study period.
A gap of more than 90 days without a placement in the home signaled the start
of a second episode of active foster parenting. Across the three states,
between 74 and 87 percent of homes had only one episode of active foster
parenting during the years studied. Among homes that were without placements
for at least 90 days, only a minority were likely to subsequently resume
foster parenting. All analyses of foster home utilization and foster parent
length of service were based on the first episode of foster parenting.

Analysts created two measures to describe the intensity of foster care provision:
occupancy rate and new placement rate. The occupancy rate was defined as
the number of placement days for all children in the home divided by the
number of days of foster parenting. It is equivalent to the average number
of children in the home on a hypothetical day. Because episodes of active
foster parenting may have included one or more periods of up to 90 days with
no placements in the home, these occupancy rates are lower than those reported
based on the average number of children in homes currently providing foster
care.

To describe variations in the extent to which foster parents dealt with different
children over time, the new placement rate was calculated as the number of
new placements in a home, divided by the number of days in the first episode
of foster parenting. The resulting figure was multiplied by 365 to create
an annualized rate. A home with six new placements during 2 years of active
foster parenting would have a new placement rate of 3; whereas a home with
six new placements during 6 months of foster parenting would have a new placement
rate of 12. Note that this formula can yield very high rates for foster homes
that care for children for very short periods of time. A home that provided
care to four children for 2 days, and had no other foster placements, would
have an annualized rate of 4 ÷ 2 × 365, or
730. Very high rates for some groups are likely to represent short time in
foster parenting, rather than homes that care for hundreds of children annually.

The study team conducted three types of analyses. First, a descriptive analysis
examined the characteristics of foster parents over the years for which data
were available. Characteristics of interest included the demographic
characteristics described previously and license types.

A second set of analyses described the utilization of licensed homes. These
analyses compared foster parents with different characteristics in terms
of whether any children were cared for during the time the home was licensed,
the average number of children in the home, and an annualized rate representing
the number of new placements in the home. Foster parent characteristics were
also used to describe the likelihood of providing care for infants, adolescents,
and children with special needs.

Finally, the team used longitudinal analysis to model the length of service
in the first episode of active foster parenting. These analyses produced
measures of time that are less biased than those based on cross-sectional
data (Usher, Wildfire, and Gibbs, 1999) because they make use of right-censored
data in which the event of interest (in this case, exit from foster parenting)
has not yet occurred. Life table analyses estimated the cumulative probability
of exiting foster care within specified time periods and examined factors
associated with varying lengths of service. Kaplan-Meier analyses provided
estimates of median length of service for foster parents.

In addition to bivariate analyses of the relationship between foster parent
characteristics and experiences, the study team tested multivariate models
using Cox proportional hazard regression (Allison, 1995). These models yield
hazard rates, which can be conceptualized as the likelihood of an
event  in this case, exit from foster parenting  on
any given day. Higher hazard rates indicate an increased probability of exit,
hence, a shorter length of service. Because New Mexico data were limited
in both years of data available and number of cases, multivariate models
used data from Oklahoma and Oregon only.

This section describes foster parent resources in terms of changes in number
of foster parents over time, utilization based on the number of children
cared for and the rate of new placements within a home, and characteristics
of homes that are most likely to care for specific types of children.

Both Oklahoma and Oregon experienced net growth in foster home resources
over the years studied, as shown in
Table 3-1.(1)
Oklahoma experienced a 27 percent net growth over 6 years, and Oregon more
than doubled the number of foster parent licenses over the 20 years reported.
However, this growth occurred in the context of substantial turnover. The
average number of licenses ending during year, as a proportion of active
licenses, was 26 percent for Oklahoma and 21 percent for Oregon.

A graphic presentation of these data suggests the substantial efforts required
to replace exiting foster homes each year to maintain and increase the number
of available homes, and the high proportion of new, less experienced homes.
Figure 3-1, for Oklahoma, and
Figure 3-2, for Oregon, show the high proportion
of licensed homes that were available for only part of the year because the
license began or ended during the year.

Some foster homes may become unavailable because foster parents have adopted
the children in their care. Figures 3-3 and 3-4 compare
the number of ending licenses, adoptive placements, and adoption finalizations
for Oklahoma and Oregon, respectively.(2) These
data are also shown in Tables A-2 and
A-6 in Appendix A. Both
figures show increasing exits from foster parenting during years in which
the number of adoptive placements or finalizations increased. Although not
all adoptions are by foster parents, the parallel trends suggest a possible
relationship between increased exits from foster parenting and adoptions
by foster parents. However, none of the states' databases allowed comprehensive
identification of children who were adopted by foster parents, which would
have supported analyses of the length of service for these foster parents.

Note: Data on adoptive placements and finalizations provided
by Oregon Department of Human Services.
Data for adoptive placements only were available for 1997-1999; data for
finalized adoptions only were available for 2000-2002.

Data on the characteristics of licensed foster parents over the years studied
are included as Appendix A. These analyses have been
reported in detail to each state and are only summarized in this report.
New Mexico data (Table A-1) do not include enough
years of data to identify trends.

Oklahoma and Oregon showed contrasting patterns in the use of restricted
licenses. As noted in Section 2.1, these foster homes
provide care only to specific children. As defined programmatically in Oklahoma,
and specified analytically for Oregon data, this category excludes relative
foster care. In Oklahoma, these homes increased from 2 percent of all licenses
in 1996 to 13 percent in 2001, after having reached a peak of 16 percent
of licenses in 1999 (Table A-3). In Oregon, restricted
licenses decreased numerically and as a proportion of all licenses, from
25 percent in 1990 to 16 percent in 2002 (Table
A-7).(3) Because the foster parenting careers
of these homes may vary from those licensed for regular foster care, their
representation within the larger population is of interest.

The two states also had somewhat different trends with respect to foster
parent age. In Oklahoma, the greatest growth in foster parent resources was
among younger foster parents, whereas those in the middle age range increased
only slightly and older foster parent homes declined
(Table A-4). In Oregon, the greatest growth was
among homes in which all foster parents were between 30 and 55 years of age
(Table A-8). This distribution may have implications
for adoptions from foster care because just over 50 percent of adoptive mothers
are under age 30 (Dalberth, Gibbs, and Berkman, 2004).

In both states, changes in foster parent racewere small
(Tables A-5 and A-9).

Oregon data include data on employment status of foster parents at the time
of licensure. Between 1983 and 2002, the proportion of homes in which all
foster parents worked full-time rose from 22 to 39 percent
(Table A-10). This trend parallels changes in
the age distribution of Oregon's foster parents, which showed declines in
the proportion of younger foster parents (who are more likely to be home
raising young children of their own) and older foster parents (who are more
likely to be partially or fully retired).

The study team used several approaches to examine utilization patterns for
foster homes. First, they examined the proportion of licensed homes that
had no recorded placements and the characteristics of these inactive homes.
They next looked at the average number of children and of new placements
in the homes with different characteristics. Finally, the study team examined
the distribution of foster care provided across the population of foster
parents.

New Mexico had a substantial number of inactive homes, which had no placements
during their entire period of licensure. Among 866 homes with license dates
in 1998 or later, 24 percent had no placements. Homes that were licensed
for foster care only, had older foster parents, or were located in rural
areas were most likely to be inactive. Oklahoma had very few inactive homes
(4 percent). The structure of Oregon data files did not allow examination
of inactive homes.

The mean occupancy rates were similar across the three states, between 1.5
and 1.6, as seen in Table 3-2. This rate suggests that
the average home has between one and two foster children on a hypothetical
day, although such homes may have no children for part of the year and several
children at other times. In all states, the mean occupancy rate was substantially
higher than the median, shown in the lower portion of Table
3-2. This distribution suggests that a relatively small group of foster
parents have much higher occupancy rates, for example, 10 percent of homes
in each state had an average of four children in the home during their first
episode of foster parenting.

The table shows several variations in occupancy among different types of
foster homes, although feware large. In Oklahoma, the mean occupancy rate
was higher for homes with restricted licenses than for other license types.
In Oregon, the opposite pattern was seen: homes with restricted licenses
had lower occupancy rates than did other types of homes.

Occupancy patterns varied across states for foster parent age and race. Occupancy
rate was somewhat higher in Oklahoma for homes in which all foster parents
were over age 55, but slightly lower for similar homes in Oregon. White foster
parents in both Oklahoma and Oregon had lower occupancy rates than did Native
American or black foster parents.

The annualized rate of new placements, representing the number of different
children placed in the home, varied considerably across states, as seen in
Table 3-3. Because homes with a very short time in foster
parenting will appear to have very high new placement rates, homes in which
the length of service was less than 90 days were excluded from this analysis.
This restriction excluded 21 percent of homes in New Mexico, 14 percent of
homes in Oklahoma, and 19 percent of homes in Oregon. The variations seen
among different types of homes are similar to patterns seen when all homes
were analyzed.

Note: Table excludes homes where length of service
was less than 90 days.

New placement rates are similar for homes in Oklahoma and Oregon, but much
higher in New Mexico. Since New Mexico's occupancy rates are similar to the
other states, the difference in new placement rate may reflect shorter lengths
of stay in foster care or higher rates of placement moves for these children.

Similar patterns for license type and foster home locationwere seen across
states. Within each state, foster parents with regular foster care licenses
had higher new placement rates than did those with other types of licenses.
Rural or nonmetropolitan homes had consistently higher rates of turnover
than urban or metropolitan ones.

Variations by foster parent age and number of foster parents in the home
were inconsistent. In New Mexico, older foster parents had substantially
lower new placement rates than others, whereas differences among age groups
were small for other states. New placement rates were highest for Native
American foster parents in Oklahoma and for white foster parents in Oregon.
Similar to the pattern seen for age, single-parent foster homes in New Mexico
had higher turnover rates than two-parent homes, whereas differences were
small for the other states.

In Oregon, the rate of new placements was lower in homes where all foster
parents work full time and in homes where income was greater than the median.

Although these analyses do not allow examination of the relative contribution
of foster parent characteristics to variations in placement rates, the large
and consistent disparity by license type suggests that this may be the most
significant factor. Regular foster care homes care for many more different
children over time than do foster-adopt homes, restricted foster care homes,
or therapeutic foster homes. When compared with the with occupancy rates
in Table 3-2, this analysis suggests that differences
in placement turnover may be far greater than differences in the number of
children placed in a home at one time.

To examine the relationship between characteristics of foster parents and
the children cared for, the study team examined the percentage of homes that
cared for at least one infant, at least one adolescent, and at least one
child with special needs. These analyses were conducted in order to assess
whether length of service was influenced by the types of children cared for
in the foster home. Patterns varied across states for each type of placement.
These variations may reflect variations in the foster care caseload across
states, as well as the ways in which states use their foster home resources.
The following discussion highlights only the very few consistent patterns
seen for each type of placement.

Table 3-4 shows substantial variations among states in
care for infants by homes with different types of licenses. For all states,
two-parent homes were more likely to care for infants than single-parent
homes. Some consistencies are seen for Oklahoma and Oregon. In these two
states, homes with regular foster care licenses were nearly four times more
likely to have cared for infants than homes with restricted non-relative
licenses. Homes with younger foster parents, and those in rural or
nonmetropolitan locations, were more likely care for infants. New Mexico
had very different patterns for license type and age.

Table 3-5 shows that although the percentage of homes
caring for at least one adolescent was similar across states, the characteristics
of these homes varied across states. Across all states, two-parent homes
were more likely to care for adolescents than single-parent homes. In both
Oklahoma and Oregon, homes with restricted licenses and those with older
foster parents were most likely to have cared for adolescents. In both New
Mexico and Oregon, homes with foster-adopt licenses were the least likely
to have cared for adolescents, suggesting the challenges of finding future
adoptive homes for these children.

Table 3-6 shows contrasting patterns in care for children
with special needs in New Mexico and Oklahoma, the two states for which these
data are available. In New Mexico, the homes most likely to have cared for
at least one child with special needs are those in which foster parents are
between ages 30 and 55, and those in urban counties. In Oklahoma, children
with special needs are more likely to have been cared for in homes with older
foster parents, and those in which at least one foster parent is Native American.
For both states, homes with regular foster care licenses and those with
twoparents are more likely to have cared for these children.

Although mean occupancy rates provide a useful measure for comparing groups
of foster parents, the provision of foster care is in fact distributed quite
unevenly across the population of foster parents. Table 3-7
shows that among foster homes that had at least one placement, many provided
very little foster care. Across the three states, between 13 and 21 percent
of homes provided less than 90 days of foster care during their time in foster
parenting. Note that this figure represents the days of care provided to
all children, rather than the length of service (i.e., 90 days of care might
consist of three children placed in the home for 30 days each). In addition,
this simple count of days of care provided does not adjust for the length
of time in foster parenting, as do occupancy rate and new placement rate.
Compared to all homes, those providing less than 90 days of care were less
likely to have foster-adopt licenses (in New Mexico and Oregon) and more
likely to have regular foster care licenses (in New Mexico) or restricted
licenses (in Oregon). Age, race and location were not different for homes
providing less than 90 days of care, but these homes were more likely than
others to have only one foster parent.

At the opposite end of the spectrum, a small proportion of foster parents
provided a large part of all foster care. The most active 20 percent of foster
parents provided between 60 and 72 percent of all foster care days. Within
this group, the most active 5 percent of homes provided more than one-quarter
of all days of foster parenting.

The finding that a small group of foster parents provide the majority of
care is striking. Interpretation of this pattern is difficult without additional
data to suggest whether low utilization of some homes is due to geographic
distribution of foster parents, or foster parents' preferences for specific
types of children. These distributions are almost certainly influenced by
the choices made by child welfare workers who match children with homes.For
example, workers may choose to place children with experienced foster parents
who they know and trust, rather than in less experienced homes. Little is
known about how workers choose homes for specific placements.

This section describes length of service in foster parenting using longitudinal
analysis methods. Descriptive analyses compared length of service for foster
parents with different characteristics. Multivariate analyses examined the
relative contribution of these characteristics to the likelihood of exit
from foster parenting.

Across the three states studied, the typical length of service in foster
parenting was less than many children's stay in foster care. Median length
of service was approximately 8 months in both New Mexico and Oregon, and
approximately 14 months in Oklahoma. By comparison, the median length of
stay for a child entering foster care was 5 months in Oregon; the 75th percentile
was 18 months (D. Webster, personal communication, September 30, 2004). Although
children's episodes of care may include planned placement changes, children
whose stay in foster care is greater than the median length of foster parenting
service are at risk of disruptions due to foster parent exits.

Table 4-1 shows that more than one-quarter of Oklahoma
foster parents care for children for less than 6 months, with only one-third
remaining in service more than 2 years. New Mexico and Oregon show even shorter
lengths of service, with only one-fifth of homes remaining in service more
than 2 years. As noted in Section 2, the dependent variable for these analyses
is the length of the first episode of active foster parenting, rather than
length of licensure.

Bivariate analyses were used to describe length of service in terms of foster
parent characteristics and the characteristics of children in foster care.
Table 4-2 shows contrasting patterns across the three
states in the relationship between length of service and foster parent license
type, age, and race. For all three states, foster parents in urban or
metropolitan areas had longer lengths of service than those in rural or
nonmetropolitanareas, and two-parent homes had longer lengths of service
than single-parent homes. Length of service in Oregon was shorter in homes
in which all foster parents worked full time and in homes in which all foster
parents were home full time. This may reflect lack of time and the demands
of rearing the foster parents' own children in the former case, and greater
age in the latter case. Length of service was slightly higher for foster
parents with greater than the median income than those at or below the median
income.

Table 4-3 shows more consistent relationships across
states between length of service and the characteristics of foster care provided.
For New Mexico and Oregon, higher occupancy rates were associated with longer
length of service.(4) Length of service
patterns related to occupancy levels in Oklahoma were inconsistent. Foster
parents who provided care for some infants, adolescents, or children with
special needs had longer lengths of service than those who cared for no such
children or those who cared exclusively for these children. Because the new
placement rate is highly sensitive to variations in length of service, as
discussed in Section 2.2, this measure was not used
for these analyses.

While it might be expected that caring for infants, adolescents, and children
with special needs would be particularly demanding, these child characteristics
do not appear to influence foster parents' length of service, except to the
extent that homes caring exclusively for these children also have shorter
lengths of stay. These findings suggest that the relationship between foster
parents' length of service and the types of children cared for is not a simple
one.

For Oklahoma and Oregon, Cox regression models were used to examine the
relationship between length of service and foster parents'characteristics
and activity.(5) As noted earlier, the
dependent variable for these models is a hazard ratio that represents the
likelihood of exit from foster parenting, thus identifying variations in
length of service.

For most variables, the largest stratum was used as the reference group against
which the relative likelihood of exiting foster parenting was estimated for
other groups. In the Oregon model, high levels of missing data for income
and employment status limited the number of cases available for analysis.
Because a model excluding these variables yielded similar findings, the model
with all variables is shown here.

Findings shown in Tables 4-4 (for Oklahoma) and
4-5 (for Oregon) were generally consistent with the bivariate
analyses described in the previous section. In reading these tables, the
key statistic is the hazard ratio in the third column. Hazard ratios less
than one indicate reduced likelihood of leaving foster parenting, or greater
length of service. Hazard ratios greater than one indicate increased likelihood
of exit, or shorter length of service. The fourth column indicates the
statistical significance of the hazard ratio as compared to the reference
category for each variable.

Table 4-6 summarizes the models for Oklahoma and Oregon.
In both states, younger foster parents had significantly higher hazard ratios,
indicating a higher likelihood of exit from foster parenting, or shorter
length of service. Foster parents in metropolitan areas and those caring
for infants, adolescents, or (in Oklahoma) children with special needs all
had longer lengths of service. In Oregon, higher income was associated with
longer length of service, but length of service did not vary by employment
status.

Some of the length of service pattern variations seen in the bivariate analyses
in Table 4-2 were eliminated when controlling for all
variables. The increased length of service for foster parents with restricted
licenses in Oklahoma was not apparent after controlling for factors such
as age. A linear test of the impact of each set of variables on the overall
model found that race was not significant in either Oklahoma or Oregon (p
= 0.1057 and 0.9283). Foster home composition was not significant in the
multivariate model for either state, although two-parent homes appeared to
have substantially higher length of service in bivariate analyses.

Perhaps the most striking finding related to length of service is a pattern
seen in bivariate analyses for all three states and persisting in multivariate
analyses for Oklahoma and Oregon. Higher occupancy was consistently associated
with increased length of service. In addition, care for children who might
be considered more demanding  infants, adolescents, and children
with special needs  was also associated with longer length of
service.

Although the three states examined here are diverse in many ways, several
consistent patterns in foster parent dynamics, utilization, and length of
service are seen in these analyses. Licensing datain Oklahoma and Oregon
show consistently high rates of foster parent turnover in both states;at
least one in five foster homes exited the system each year. Ongoing attrition
of foster parents creates enormous demands on systems that must recruit and
train sufficient numbers of new foster parents to maintain and even expand
the number of available homes.

Patterns of foster care provision varied across sites, but some clear trends
were evident. Regardless of their characteristics, foster homes had, on average,
between one and two children in the home at a time. In general, homes with
nonwhite foster parents, those in rural or nonmetropolitan counties, and
those with two parents cared for more children at a time and had higher rates
of placement turnover. Foster parents caring for infants were typically younger,
urban, and in two-parent homes, whereas those caring for adolescents were
likely to be older, rural, and in single-parent homes. Across the three states,
one-fifth of the foster parent population provided between 60 and 72 percent
of all days of foster care.

Median length of service in foster parenting ranged from 8 to 14 months across
the three states, suggesting that many children's placements in foster care
are longer than the typical foster parent career. Multivariate models showed
that foster parents with greater length of service are likely to be older,
live in a metropolitan area, and be engaged in more intense foster parenting
activity, as indicated by higher occupancy rates and care for infants,
adolescents, and children with special needs. In contrast to earlier research,
higher income was associated with longer length of service among Oregon foster
parents; it is not possible to tell whether this is a distinct pattern for
that state or a result of different methodologies. Whereas earlier research
found longer tenure among black foster parents, this study found no significant
associations between length of service and race after controlling for other
variables.

Key findings from this study address multiple aspects of the dynamics of
foster parent utilization and retention:

Length of service in foster parenting is shorter than many managers would
expect. As with analyses of children's length of stay in foster care,
estimates of foster parents' length of service based on longitudinal methods
may be surprisingly short. Cross-sectional samples and anecdotal data are
both likely to overrepresent the long-term foster parent, who is
disproportionately likely to be present when a survey is mailed, a focus
group convened, or statistics compiled from rosters. Estimated with a
longitudinal model, the median length of service of 8 to 14 monthsfor these
states is a distinct contrast to the mean time in foster parenting of 5 to
8 years reported in the studies described in Section 1 (Martin et al., 1992;
Rindfleisch, Bean, and Denby, 1998). In the three states studied, between
47 and 62 percent of foster parents exit foster parenting within a year of
the first placement in their home.

Foster parent burn-out cannot be identified as a factor in
length of service. A working hypothesis at the outset of this study was
that foster parents exit the system after being exhausted by high levels
of placements in their homes and the demands of children in their care. This
theory was not supported by the data. Higher foster home occupancy and higher
levels of care for infants, adolescents, and children with special needs
were consistently associated with greater lengths of service.

One-fifth of the foster parent population provides 60 to 80 percent of
all foster care. Across the three states, a relatively small group carries
much of the work of the foster care system. These foster parents are similar
to those described by Martin et al. (1992), who found that 23 percent of
foster parents interviewed cared for half the children in care at the time.
These foster parents may represent a core group of active and experienced
foster parents. Because they are willing to accept a variety of placements,
and because their long tenure equips them with practical expertise in caring
for the children in need of placements, child welfare workers are likely
to feel confident placing children in these homes, therefore, these homes
carry a major portion of the workload.

Readers should note some important limitations of these analyses. First,
the experiences of three states cannot be generalized to other groups of
foster parents. Our analyses identified some consistencies among states,
such as the uneven distribution of the foster parenting workload and increased
length of service among foster parents who are over age 30, located in a
metropolitan area, and caring for more children at a time. However, findings
varied sharply among states for many key measures, such as the median length
of service. It is not possible, based on analyses with three states, to speculate
about which patterns may be more typical of foster parents in general.

A second limitation is that these analyses, while describing length of service
and associated foster parent characteristics, provide little insight
regardingwhy foster parents stay or leave. Rather, they offer a useful
counterpoint to the research described in Section 1.2 on how foster parents'
perceptions and experiences influence their decision to continue foster
parenting.

A final limitation is that these analyses focus on associations between foster
parent characteristics and the number and types of children cared for. However,
child placements ultimately rest on child welfare workers' decisions, as
well as foster parent preferences. These dynamics are likely to be far more
subtle than can be revealed by examination of administrative data.

These analyses extend previous research by providing unbiased estimates of
length of service for foster parents, as well as a more detailed picture
of the characteristics associated with varying length of service. Further
analyses in other states might build on these analyses to incorporate data
elements such as foster parent training and foster care board rates.

For individual foster parents, the decision to continue or leave foster parenting
is no doubt influenced by experiences with child welfare agencies and foster
children and personal circumstances, as described in Section 1. Though longevity
is of course not the only goal for foster parents, preventing the unnecessary
loss of qualifiedfoster parents would significantly enhance child welfare
systems' ability to enhance the safety, permanency, and well-being for children
in their care. Better understanding of foster parent length of service and
service dynamics is an essential first step toward achievement of this goal.

This report is based on a task titled Dynamics of Foster Parenting,
which was conducted by RTI International, under contract number HHS-100-99-0006,
delivery order 5, for the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning
and Evaluation, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The opinions
expressed in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent
positions of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Essential to the production of this report was the cooperation of the state
child welfare agencies in New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Oregon. Staff from these
agencies provided extensive expert advice on the correct use of their state's
data.

Material contained in this publication is in the public domain and may be
reproduced, fully or partially, without permission of the Federal Government.
The courtesy of attribution is requested. The recommended citation follows:

Gibbs, D. Understanding Foster Parenting: Using Administrative Data
to Explore Retention (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation,
2005).